The present invention relates to a novel process for the continuous treatment of a light- to medium-weight textile web with a hot treating liquid. The invention will be described with particular reference to the dyeing of such webs, but should not be regarded as limited to dyeing.
During the finishing treatment of webs of material which consist of texturized synthetic fibers, such as, for example, texturized polyamide fibers, or polyester fibers, it is necessary to remove spinning and weaving oils and other preparations, which have been previously applied thereto, by a precleaning step. After this precleaning operation, the fibers of the material must be dried and then fixed.
There is a difference of opinion among those skilled in the art, however, whether the treatment steps described above should be carried out before or after applying the dye solution to the material. The reason is that, up to the present, the dyeing of undyed texturized materials has been performed on treating machines which provide only for discontinuous operation. Some of these machines employ jet spray application. The conventional jet spray devices have a detrimental influence on the finished material when the dyed material is later subjected to a finishing process lasting from 1 to 4 hours, including texture development and stabilization of the fibers, after the dye has been applied to the material. Modern dyeing operations, performed on continuous dyeing machinery, require only a few minutes exposure in the dye bath, which normally is at very high temperatures.
The art has sought an improved operation by which the swiftly dyed web may be treated with a finishing liquid so that detrimental effects are avoided.